Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Just a Quick note about our Cardiologist appointment on Friday. Josh had his surgery May 24, 2007 so it has been 8 months.
1. He was so brave! I was very proud. He got a little choked up with the ekg, and then settled. He started to be a little upset with the echo, but we gave him some choices and showed him it wouldn't hurt, and he (almost visably) composed himself, and ate pretzels for the 40-50 minutes it took to get all the pictures. No sedation, no fussing, and no need to redo. When that was done, he was ready and willing to impress the cardiology staff that took care of him during his hospital stay.
2. He has gained 8 pounds and at least 2 inches in height.
3. His echo is good. He has some dilation of the right heart, but less than right after surgery, the small openings between the right ventricle and the coronary arteries are all gone but one.
4. The cardiologists were really pleased with his progress, and reassured me that no limits means no limits. He can do what ever he feels up to doing. He should be allowed to rest when he wants, but not forced to rest. The activity will be good for his right heart.
5. They do think he will need a valve replacement at age 10-15 because his right heart may wear out because of the lack of valve. Right now that means another open heart, but there is a lot of work going on in the area of valve replacement during cardiac cath, so maybe in 7 to 12 years, the valve can be placed without open heart (please lord).
So Yea Josh! You rock, and thanks for making cardiology, Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters and family and friends very happy!
We don't need to see cardiology until January 09!

2 comments:

I just found your new blog, Jeanne. I sent you a personal email message a few hours earlier. We're getting closer to our TA for our daughter with TofF. Josh's story has been an inspiration. I'm excited and scared to start the same journey that you've been on for several months.